Meaning of “Shake It Off” by Taylor Swift

“Shake It Off” is a song by American singer Taylor Swift. The song, as its title implies, talks about Swift’s success in ignoring the false rumors peddled about her by the media and her distracters. In an interview, Swift had with Rolling Stone magazine, she said of the lyrics of the song as lyrics that are targeted at her detractors.

She said as of the time of writing the song, she had learned a very important lesson in life that whatever one does, people are always going to say something about it, and that is something that can never be controlled. However, there is something that can be controlled in respect to that, and that is “our reaction” to what people say about us. According to her, she is always going to shake off the negative things her detractors say about her and not let it get to her.

“‘Cause the players gonna play, play, play, play, play
And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate
Baby, I’m just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake
I shake it off, I shake it off”

Facts about “Shake It Off”

This was written by Swift and renowned Swedish producers and songwriters Shellback and Max Martin, who has over the years co-written a number of hit songs with her including Blank Space and Bad Blood.

The song was produced by both Shellback and Martin.

Taylor’s management released “Shake It Off” on August 18, 2014. It served as the lead single from her fifth studio album titled 1989. The album’s other singles are:

• “Blank Space”
• “Style”
• “Bad Blood”
• “Wildest Dreams”
• “Out of the Woods”
• “New Romantics”

About a year after the song was released, an artist named Jesse Braham (Jesse Graham) took Swift to court demanding $42 million from her after he alleged that she stole some lines from his song entitled Haters Gonna Hate. He said the hook in “Shake It Off” was the same as that in his song. Braham’s lawsuit was dismissed by the court.

“Shake It Off” is one of Swift’s most successful singles. The song reached number one in several countries, including her home country the United States and Canada. On the UK Singles Chart, it peaked at the second position.